VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Vaccinium myrsinites | Ground Blueberry 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Browse:  The importance of ground blueberry browse to wildlife and
livestock is not well documented.  Fall deer utilization was estimated
at 10.0 percent during the first year after fire in a longleaf
pine-turkey oak (Quercus laevis) community of Florida [20].

Fruit:  Mammals such as the black bear, raccoon, white-footed mouse, red
fox, gray fox, skunks, chipmunks, deer mice, and squirrels feed on the
fruit of Vaccinium spp. [29,44].  Throughout the southeastern Coastal
Plain, white-tailed deer consume the fruit of ground blueberry [23].
The ring-necked pheasant, scarlet tanager, gray catbird, thrushes,
towhees, thrashers, and bluebirds eat berries of many species of
Vaccinium [29,44].  Large numbers of ground blueberry fruit are eaten by
the ruffed grouse, wild turkey, and quail [42].  In pine flatwood
communities, it is a major spring and summer food of the northern
bobwhite [23].


PALATABILITY : 
Ground blueberry fruit is highly palatable to a wide variety of birds
and mammals.


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Browse:  Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) foliage is relatively high in
carotene, manganese, and energy content [12,19].

Fruit:  Vaccinium berries are sweet and contain high concentrations of
both mono- and di-saccharides [38].  Berries are rich in vitamin C and
energy content but low in fats [22,35].


COVER VALUE : 
Ground blueberry presumably provides cover for a variety of small birds
and mammals.  Dense saw palmetto (Serenoa repens)-ground blueberry
thickets provide good cover for many species of birds [5].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Species within the genus Vaccinium can be propagated from hardwood stem
cuttings or from seed.  Seedlings grown in the greenhouse can be
transplanted onto favorable sites 6 to 7 weeks after emergence.  Seed
collection and storage techniques have been considered in detail [11].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
The edible fruit of ground blueberry is described as "juicy" [32] and of
"fair quality" [8].  Fruit is commonly eaten raw.  Many blueberries
(Vaccinium spp.)  were important traditional foods of Native American
peoples.

Ground blueberry hybridizes with a number of highbush blueberries and
may have potential for improving heat and drought tolerance of
commercial fruit-producing strains [13].  Its ability to grow well on
upland mineral soil makes it well Suited for use in commercial blueberry
breeding [25].  Ground blueberry was first cultivated in England after
1880 [8].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Mechanical removal:  In southern mixed forests, double chopping produces
high mortality in the ground blueberry [40].

Chemical control:  Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) exhibit variable
susceptibility to herbicides such as 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T, glyphosate,
karbutilate, and picloram [6].

Habitat destruction:  Ground blueberry is a prominent understory
constituent of scrub palmetto communities which have been disappearing
as development occurs along the southeastern coast.  Much of this unique
habitat has been destroyed within the past century [3].

Timber harvest:  Most blueberries are susceptible to postlogging
treatments which include severe scarification [30].  This appears to be
true of ground blueberry as well.

Wildlife considerations:  Blueberries are an extremely important food
source for black bears.  In many areas, bear-human conflicts are most
likely to occur during years of blueberry crop failure [30,37].

Fruit production:  In young pine plantations, fruit yields of ground
blueberry tend to be greatest during the fourth year after conifer
plantings [23].  Berry production in a young slash pine (Pinus
elliottii) plantation was as follows [23]:


years since        standing crops (g/100m sq) of fruit     
planting
                    site 1              site 2    
  
 1                   6.7                12.0
 2                   0.5                 4.0              
 3                   6.6                 4.0 
 4                  11.4                 4.0 
 5                   1.4                 4.0
6-10                 0.1                 4.0

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium myrsinites | Ground Blueberry